Were you surprised by Sunday’s result in South Florida? Expectations heightened, were they, after a home win over Buffalo?
Don’t beat yourself up over a 31-17 loss to a pretty good Miami team. The Dolphins have speed to spare – enough to make up for most flaws within their own lineup. The Patriots, quite simply, are who we thought they were.
They’re just not very good.
Sure, they have some talent, and enough to occasionally beat a team like the Bills, who thrashed the Dolphins earlier this year. But this New England team needs everything to roll their way to realize ultimate success, and when they don’t get that – the end result is:
They’re just not very good.
Mac Jones is good enough to get on a roll, and with some help, he can lead his team to a win. But when multiple mistakes are made – as is often the case with this current Patriots’ edition – Mac is also not good enough to overcome them, especially when those mistakes are his own, like repeatedly throwing to his left off his back foot.
The offensive line has been, well, offensive for much of the first half of the season – wait, we still have another half to go? But the line play wasn’t a primary culprit on this particular Sunday. Sure, there were moments of good and bad, but there were also moments of indecision and hesitation from the line. And hesitation from Jones, from the backs (Rhamondre Stevenson in particular) and the receiving corps.
Adding insult to it all are the injuries. They’re beginning to mount. That “next man up” philosophy doesn’t work very well when the next man up isn’t up to the task. Or available to play. Or qualified/coached enough/trained enough to play.
The schedule has also been a tough one. But it isn’t THE reason for losing. It’s simply made a team with multiple flaws, and a lack of enough overall talent and depth fight its’ way uphill way too often.
Eventually, a team tires, trudging uphill all the time. And when your head hits that brick wall enough, it starts to hurt. When your team is constantly putting itself in bad positions, the outcome becomes inevitable.
You lose because you’re just not very good.
Get off
Two ways to look at this one.
- You lost the coin toss again, thankfully, so you had the chance to start with the opening drive in your possession. Instead, your offense goes three-and-out…and finishes the game 1-for-9 on third down.
- Miami was a middling 5-for-14 on third-down plays (36%), but a perfect three-for-three on fourth down. It was almost as if Mike McDaniel was brushing aside gnats when it came to drawing up a play for a fourth down attempt. They all worked.
Yes, the Patriots actually led the game 7-0 in the first quarter. Jones found Kendrick Bourne for a score following a Kyle Dugger interception to set it up. But the Dolphins then hit for a big play to Tyreek Hill (beating J.C. Jackson) to tie it up. You can’t win when your defense can’t get off the field, and this Patriots’ team also can’t win when the offense doesn’t get off to good starts.
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Love that dirty laundry
They must love it. How else do you explain the repeated mistakes (offensive holding, false starts, defensive holding, pass interference) made? The DPI on Jackson in the second quarter against Hill set up the ensuing score to Cedrick Wilson. Questionable call?
There were a bunch of those, sure. But they weren’t the reason a game was won or lost. It’s a simple lack of attention to detail – something that used to be a given when talking about New England Patriots success.
Not so Big Mac
Not piling on Mac Jones. But to many, it’s becoming easier by the week to see his underperformance as a direct cause for his teammates’ underperformance. It leads to Jones trying to do too much, trying to create plays to make something happen when the team needs the boost.
And that’s a negative. The real problem may be…he’s overthinking it. Always trying to think of the ‘big play’ when the right play is right in front of him. After the defense forced a Miami fumble early in the third quarter, providing his team with a big chance to get back in it…Jones took a sack on third-and-five from the Dolphins’ 14-yard line.
He missed a wide-open Devante Parker over the middle, perhaps due to the pressure, perhaps because he was simply trying to make a play. When the obvious play was right in front of him. Instead of a touchdown to pull within three points early in the third with a ton of momentum, the Patriots settled for a 17-10 deficit and a sigh of relief from Miami. They dodged the bullet.
This will hurt all over again during film study this week.